Fact-Checking - Megan Cattel

Featured Projects

The Gun Machine, a podcast from WBUR and The Trace

I fact-checked WBUR’s eight-part investigative series, The Gun Machine, a deep dive into America’s most controversial, protected, lethal industry. The series, which won a national Murrow Award in 2024, connects the dots between American arms manufacturers, political loopholes, and the NRA.

Nieman Reports • 4th April 2024

'Unparalleled and Unprecedented' - Nieman Reports

I led editorial operations for our Spring 2024 feature on Gaza, which was a 2025 Mirror Award finalist. I recruited and coordinated Arabic-speaking fact-checkers and fixers based in Egypt, London, and Gaza, to support original reporting and verification across Arabic and English sources.

Training and Standards

Nieman Reports • 3rd March 2025

'I Quit Being a Journalist': The Arrest of a Prominent Cambodian Reporter Sends a Chilling Message - Nieman Reports

I onboarded and coached the fact-checker assigned to this story, and created a set of guidelines and best practices for them to follow. I also reviewed their work for errors before publication.

Nieman Reports • 5th December 2024

The Lonely Crusade Against Caste - Nieman Reports

I recruited and onboarded the fact-checker assigned to this story, and reviewed their work for errors before publication.

Articles I've Fact-Checked

Dear America (Nieman Reports)
What Legacy Newsrooms Can Learn from Social Media Creators (Nieman Reports)
Unerased (Nieman Reports)
A New Chapter (Nieman Reports)
From the Battlefield to the Campaign Trail (Nieman Reports)
Immigrant Media: Serving Communities at a Critical Moment (Nieman Reports)
Mixed Signals (Nieman Reports)
Democracies Should Never Spy on Journalists, Even in the Name of National Security (Nieman Reports)
The High Stakes of Reporting on Homegrown Extremism (Nieman Reports)
Want to Reach Gen Z? Prioritize Young Voices (Nieman Reports)
Reporting on Empty (Nieman Reports)
Tool of the Trade (Nieman Reports)
How Ukrainian Media Is Navigating the Challenge of Reporting Ethically on the Russian Invasion (Nieman Reports)
First female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation will be featured on US coin (StoryCorps, NPR Morning Edition)
“I don't break”: How Two People Found Strength in One Another After Police Violence (StoryCorps, NPR Morning Edition)
Carlisle Indian Industrial School forced Native American children to assimilate (StoryCorps, NPR Morning Edition)
Damon Young and Martin Garcia have a conversation on One Small Step in Wichita (StoryCorps, The Wichita Eagle)
The day Santas stormed Macy's to protest for AIDS awareness (StoryCorps, NPR Morning Edition)
How A Shared Language Helped Two Young People Find Their Voice (StoryCorps, NPR Morning Edition)
The Brooklyn EMT Who Saved A Life and Inspired A Nursing Career (StoryCorps, NPR Morning Edition)
A Holocaust survivor honors the woman who saved his life (StoryCorps, NPR Morning Edition)
Bucking stereotypes, a Black cowboy leads the way in South Central LA (StoryCorps, NPR Morning Edition)
A man sticks out the pandemic with his ex-wife and mother (StoryCorps, NPR Morning Edition)
A granddaughter passes on the legacy of a midwife born into slavery (StoryCorps, NPR Morning Edition)